Coverage of the Portland Sea Dogs and Red Sox Organization

Today’s Notes in New Britain

DAY BASEBALL TO KICK OFF THE WEEKEND: This afternoon the Sea Dogs continue their four-game series in New Britain, CT, taking on the Rock Cats in a special 12:05 PM start from New Britain Stadium. The Rock Cats drew a sellout crowd of 6,684 for the series opener on Thursday night.

THEY SCORED EARLY: New Britain scored six times in 2.2 IP off Brock Huntzinger, en route to a 6-2 victory in the series opener. Former Sea Dog Ray Chang kicked off the scoring with a two-out, solo-homer in the first inning. Joe Benson went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI, and Evan Bigley and Marc Dolenc added run-scoring singles. Will Middlebrooks blasted a solo-homer in the second inning, his second of the season…Portland had one hit after the fifth inning, a ninth-inning single by Middlebrooks.

THAT MAKES IT 24 STRAIGHT: Portland’s bullpen duo of Eammon Portice and Seth Garrison retired all 16 batters in last night’s game…Jeremy Kehrt sat down the final eight batters on Tuesday night, making it eight straight perfect frames for the relievers…Garrison has worked three scoreless outings, pitching two innings in each appearance.

QUITE A START: Quincy, Massachusetts native Alex Hassan (Hass-un) went 1-for-2, 2 walks last night, and has hit safely in all seven starts, going 13-for-26 (.500)…Ryan Dent had two hits last night, his first multi-hit game in Double-A…Oscar Tejeda extended his hitting streak to four games with a double to lead off the fifth inning.

NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON’T: One of the biggest strengths of Portland’s offense in the first seven games has been their speed…Portland is 11-for-12 in steals on the year…The team was 9-for-9 in stolen bases until Che-Hsuan Lin was caught stealing third base last Sunday…Dent, Hassan and Lin have each have two steals…Jon Hee’s stolen base Tuesday against Trenton makes him the 7th Portland player to record a steal in 2011…New Britain and Binghamton lead the league in stolen bases with 12

COMPLETING FIVE: Alex Wilson is the only starter to notch a quality start, hurling six scoreless frames on two hits in Tuesday’s 7-0 win against the Trenton Thunder at Hadlock Field…Huntzinger has lasted just 6.1 innings over his first two starts, allowing 12 runs (11 earned) on 15 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts and 2 home runs.

WHAT’S ON DECK: Tomorrow, the Sea Dogs and Rock Cats (Twins affiliate) play at 6:35 PM, but the finale is 1:05 PM on Sunday…Portland’s second leg of the roadtrip begins Monday night at NYSEG Stadium against the Binghamton Mets, all three games in the series begin at 6:35 PM.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.